Savageman 70.0 - Triathlon

The goal for this was to simply manage my way through the course and conserve energy for now; I knew I'd need all I could get later on this bike course.

I started toward the front and far inside, and at the gun, got out and just got into a good rhythm and maintained an even effort throughout. Caught a few people's feet early and again late, and just let them pull me along.

Absolutely nothing. This went really well.

Took a totally opposite approach from the day before - no pre-clipping of shoes, no real flying mounts, etc..... slow and deliberate was my mantra. Despite that, I still nearly ran out without my helmet on. Had to return to the rack and put it on, then get going again.... the brain was not entirely firing on all cylinders at this point, fatigue was already evident.

Nothing - time was the last thing I was concerned about.

Coming into this, I had one goal and one goal only aside from finishing the 120.0: Get My Brick.

That's it, nothing else mattered. As such, I took the first 18 miles pretty easy. I spun up Toothpick and cruised down the long descent toward the town of Westernport.

When I saw the sign at the city limits, my stomach flopped. Nerves hit and I started to get amped up. This was it. There was a guy in front of me that kept soft-pedaling to try to put space in front of him, but I was trying to do the same to let some space grow between us - I didn't want to be anywhere anyone's rear wheel when I got to the wall. Turns out, it wouldn't matter. As I rode almost casually through the town, the anticipation began to grow, and I kept thinking that every turn would The Turn that finally revealed The Wall to me. Finally, one by one we made an easy left and there it was..... and I just laughed. My brain was like "Are you freaking kidding me?!!?"...and then I started running through everything people had been telling me. I got into the easiest gear early, I stayed seated and spinning through most all of the lead-up, I picked my line on the right, and then I just got out of the saddle, kept my (considerable) weight forward and hammered it for all I was worth - head down, neck and arms popping, screaming... and I made it up! I got my Brick. From this point on, nothing else mattered. I was now just there to take it all in and complete it. Up and over Big Savage (I did walk the bike up the last 200 meters of Big Savage) and Killer Miller (which I rode all the way up - and I felt like death at the top, lol!).
The last 5 miles or so of the bike were super easy and fast. I rolled up to T2 and hopped off, ready to walk my bike to the rack :)


Not. A. Freaking. Thing.

Got off the bike with shoes still on, only after coming to a complete stop, then walk/danced my bike to the other end of transition to get my Run On. I'd finished the bike of Savageman and gotten my Brick, and I'd done it as part of the 120.0 - I couldn't have been happier.

Nothing

Hands down, one of my best runs of the season. The time/pace wasn't the greatest, but given the course and the fact that this was the end of Race #3 of the weekend, I would never have expected it to be fast.... but it felt GOOD. I munch on Chex Mix and bananas, and alternated drinking Gatorade and water.... my stomach issues that had plagued me all season long were nowhere to be seen, and it was freaking amazing! I walked the camprground hill (the same little one from the 20.0 & 30.0) and definitely walked the Fire Road Hill both times... aside from that, I was able to keep moving pretty much the entire time and it was great!


Nothing!

At some point during the 50.0 the day before, I did something to my left Achilles. I first really noticed it before the swim. It almost felt like my timing chip was on way too tight, but the calf was kinda tight, too. It kinda plagued me a bit all day, but I don't know if it every REALLY held me back, but I do know that I'm paying for it now. Post-race, I can barely walk - I'm pretty much totally hobbled; that ankle will barely flex and there is some swelling around the Achilles.


"Overall course based on my ability:" option above needs an "OMFG, ARE YOU CRAZY?!?" setting.



If you've never done Savageman - you owe it to yourself. While it is definitely the hardest race course you are likely to ever do, that bike course is also probably the most beautiful. Several times along the way, I just took some time to take it all in - utterly gorgeous country!

I'm sure that I've left out a TON of things I wanted to say here, but I do want to remember to give a shout out to all of the folks wearing Bib #'s 35 and under (especially my rack mates 1-12) - it was great to see everyone along the way throughout the weekend and give each other a little nod, a high five, or just small cheers as we all finished the 120.0